


Red Is The Warmest Colour

by eponlne



Category: SKAM France
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Soulmate AU, eliott has tattoos it’s irrelevant to the plot but imagine, pining lucas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24307741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eponlne/pseuds/eponlne
Summary: soulmate au where you can’t see colours until you kiss your soulmate
Relationships: Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant, Lucas Lallemant/Eliott Demaury, elu - Relationship
Comments: 11
Kudos: 200





	Red Is The Warmest Colour

Lucas coated his nails in a dark grey colour, though the label claimed it to be ‘candy apple red’. Whatever that meant. He knew that red was the colour of blood and anger and love, that red was fiery and intense. He knew that red was the colour of lipsticks that stained his cheeks after his aunts kissed them when he was younger. He knew that red was the colour that made his face warm when embarrassed. He just didn’t know what it looked like. 

Colours only appeared after kissing your soulmate. Not after a first look, not after a first touch, but after a first kiss. Some people went on their entire lives without ever finding them, instead settling for a dull existence with a mediocre partner, and the idea terrified Lucas. He wanted nothing more than to see the blue of the sky and the sea; the greens and yellows of the leaves; the oranges and reds of a sunset. He wanted nothing more than to love and be loved like he truly deserved, to have someone made for him by his side as they explored the colours of the world. Luke felt like he was running out of time. 

“We’ve got to pick up Camille in twenty minutes, so we better get going,” urged Mika as he rushed into the living room. Lucas nodded, blowing on his freshly painted hand as he grabbed his phone with his dry one. 

Lucas remembers the day Mika found out he had met his soulmate. He remembers the excitement in his eyes as he kept looking at everything and anything, occasionally yelling ‘this is green, Lucas, this is really green!’ or ‘why does everyone hate the colour orange? It's so nice!’ Lucas was so happy for his friend, but he couldn’t help but wallow in envy that night as he tried hard to envision Mika’s detailed description of the colour red. 

But you can’t imagine a colour you’ve never seen.

The party’s atmosphere was chill and cozy, not rowdy like the ones Mika usually brought him to. Idriss, the host, greeted him with a hug as he stepped through the door, and Lucas loved how amiable he seemed. The only faces he recognised were those of Mika and Camille, and yet he felt like he belonged amongst these strangers. 

“Nice nails,” commented a dark haired stranger who leaned on the railing a couple metres beside him, cigarette between his fingers. “What colour are they?”

“Red,” he told him proudly, a small smile stretching his lips. “At least that’s what the label says,” he shrugged, turning his attention back to the city lights. 

The stranger hummed in response, seemingly pensive as he blew a cloud of smoke.   
“Fiery and bold. I like it.” 

Lucas nodded as he gave him a quick glance, noticing his nails weren’t plain either. “What colour are yours?”

“Blue.”

“Calm and serene. I like it,” Lucas echoed his previous words, smiling when he heard his quiet chuckle. “I’m Lucas.”

“I’m Eliott. You want?” Eliott offered, holding out the cigarette towards him. Lucas declined with a shake to the head. “You don’t smoke?” 

“I’ve, uh, I never found the appeal,” he shrugged somewhat nervously, something deep within his mind telling him that he should’ve just complied, that he should’ve tried to fit in.

“Good. Smoking is shit. By the way,” he said in a low voice, taking a few steps closer to him. Close enough that Lucas could smell his cologne masked by the smell of tobacco. “Don’t look now, but the girl in the stripy top has been eyeing you for the past five minutes. Might be worth seeing whether you can finally admire your red nails by the end of the night,” Eliott told him with a soft smile, giving a supportive squeeze to his shoulder. 

He still couldn’t see red by the end of the night. 

Lucas laid in his bed, phone in hand as he scrolled mindlessly through instagram. But then he found his fingers tapping on Mika’s account, found his eyes searching for Idriss amidst his followers, found himself looking through Irdriss’ followers as well until he landed on the account he pursued.

Eliott Demaury.

He felt his lips tug upwards as he scrolled through his feed. There were pictures of coffee cups and drawings of cartoons; blurry pictures from nights out and shirtless pictures at the beach. He couldn’t help zooming into those. Although Lucas hadn’t ever found the appeal of tattoos either, too indecisive to commit to a design for the rest of his days, he was intrigued by the patterns covering the skin of his arms and chest. Something about the way the ink clung to Eliott’s bicep made him open his eyes. 

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath after unconsciously double tapping the screen, accustomed to liking every picture when scrolling through his feed. Hasty fingers were quick to unlike it before throwing his phone across the bed. 

Lucas’ heart was racing in his chest and he could feel himself begin to sweat and his fingers were tingling and he knew that if he could see colours he would be seeing red. A panicked and anxious red. He hated himself for always getting like this over minuscule situations, though he hated himself for a lot of things. But then his phone buzzed, snapping Lucas out of his thoughts. A smile returned to his face upon reading the notification and he felt the world go back to a tranquil blue. 

‘@srodulv followed you’

The second time he saw Eliott was at some other friend of Mika’s pool party, eyes gazing over the buffet of finger food. The place was once again packed with strange faces and Lucas was glad to have found his new acquaintance amidst the crowd. He looked different in the daylight. Maybe it was the way the sunlight bounced off of his grey skin, or the way droplets of water trickled down his chest, but Eliott looked as though he was glowing. Almost ethereal.

“Stick to pizza, it’s always the safest option,” Lucas commented as he approached the man, Eliott’s eyebrows briefly shooting up in surprise when he realised it was him. 

“If it isn’t my instagram stalker,” Eliott teased with a cheeky grin, nodding at his suggestion. Lucas turned his head away as soon as he felt the red heat rise to his cheeks, beyond embarrassed by the fact Eliott remembered. “Any luck with stripy top?”

“The fates didn’t seem to be on my side that night,” he replied with a shake to the head, reaching for a fresh can of beer. “Maybe I should go for a girl with a plain top next time.”

“Cheer up, mate,” Eliott said with a soft chuckle, placing a comforting pat to his back. Lucas chose to ignore the way it lingered for a few seconds. “Soulmates aren’t everything.”

But they were everything to Lucas. 

He had been dreaming about finding his soulmate since he was six. He was playing weddings with his friends during lunchtime and after the ‘groom’ kissed his ‘bride’, the pair yelled out in horror. They kept telling the group that everything around them had changed, that everything looked brighter and beautiful yet so strange, but none of the kids could understand what they meant. He remembers telling his mum about it on the walk home from school, who enlightened him about the concept of soulmates with a smile. Lucas spent the rest of the day asking about the colour of the sky and the trees and his shirt, just to receive answers he couldn’t comprehend. He still couldn’t.

Lucas simply hummed in response as he opened the can, trying his best to be nonchalant despite strongly disagreeing with his comment. 

“Lots of people lead wonderful lives without ever finding their soulmates, you know? They just say ‘fuck you’ to the universe and live a happy life without depending on a soulmate, I think it’s amazing.” 

“I guess,” Lucas agreed with a shrug. “But don’t you ever picture yourself being truly happy, discovering the colours of the world with a girl that’s perfect for you in every way?”

“Sure I do,” Eliott replied casually, taking a bite of his pizza slice. “Not necessarily with a girl, though.” 

The speed at which Lucas snapped his head to look at him in surprise was almost embarrassing. Eliott’s eyebrows rose in a coquettish manner, a knowing smile on his lips as he watched Lucas process his confession. 

“Then, uh,” Lucas muttered, returning his focus to the beer in his hand, “then you should at least try to find him. No need to rebel against the universe just yet.”

It was Eliott’s turn to hum in response as he ran his fingers through his wet curls, watching his friends call for him from the pool. “Catch you later,” he said, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze before walking away. 

The third time he saw Lucas was in his own apartment.

Mika just loved having the chance to get drunk and party with his friends, and what better place to do it than from the comfort of his own home. Soon enough, Mika’s friends and his own began to fill the space between the walls, bringing their loud voices along with beer and vodka. 

Lucas tried to join in. Lucas tried to let loose and have fun with the boys but all he could focus on was Eliott. The way the strobe lighting made him move in slow motion; the way his biceps pressed tightly against the material of his shirt; the way his hand rested on some guy’s arm. Their eyes met for a brief second before the guy placed a hand on Eliott’s cheek, returning his attention back to the stranger. 

Lucas didn’t know why but that simple action made his heart ache. It made his throat constrict and his hands shake and Lucas had to get away, he just had to pull himself away from the scene he was stuck in. He couldn’t handle the loud music or the flashing grey lights or Eliott. He pushed people out of his way until he finally reached the terrace, breathing out a relieved sigh when the warm breeze brushed past his face.

No guy had ever made Lucas feel as jealous as he felt now. Especially not a guy he had only spoken to twice. He felt so irrational and silly and dumb for feeling the way he did and he had to force himself to look at his bold red nails to ground himself. To remind himself of the confident man he should be. 

His mother always told him such amazing things about the colour red. She told Lucas red was strong like him; that red was loving like him; that red was courageous like him. He could never agree with her words, always having been too shy and insecure for that, but incorporating the concept of red into his life never failed to empower him.

So maybe he was jealous, but he was okay with that. Maybe he liked Eliott, and he was okay with that too. 

“There you are,” spoke a deep voice he had been longing to hear for days. “I was looking for you,” Eliott told him as he rested his arms beside his, elbows touching. 

“Guess you found me,” he murmured, all newly acquired confidence replaced by his usual timidity the second Eliott appeared by his side. 

“Why are you out here on your own? Isn’t this your party?” Lucas shook his head. 

“It’s Mika’s,” he clarified, “I just happen to live here too. And I’m out here because I needed a breather.”

“Too crowded?”

“Something like that.” 

The atmosphere between them was somewhat awkward and uncertain, as though neither of them wanted to say the wrong thing. Lucas just didn’t want to make a fool of himself. Eliott pulled out a cigarette from the pack, placing it between his lips as he lit it.

“I thought about what you said the other day, you know? About trying to find my soulmate,” Lucas turned with curious eyes to face him, humming to urge him to continue. Eliott thought about him. “And, you’re right, I guess. Deep down, soulmates are everything to me,” Eliott confessed before taking his first drag. Lucas placed a comforting hand on his toned arm, softly caressing his skin. “But I fucking hate that they could be anywhere. They could be right in front of me and I would never find out because I don’t go round kissing strangers. The chances of finding them are so fucking low, you know?” 

“Yeah, I know,” Lucas murmured as he turned back to look at the city lights, letting go of his arm. “Do you believe in fate?”

“To an extent,” Eliott shrugged, “I think that there are certain things that are set in stone, but how you get there is completely up to you.”

“Okay, then I think that you finding your soulmate is set in stone. You’ve just got to take the leap,” he told him. “What colour do you want to see?”

“I want nothing more than to see the peaceful blue of the sky or the powerful navy of the ocean. I love the idea of blue so fucking much that I’ll paint my nails that colour like a fool even though it just looks grey,” Eliott chuckled humourlously, holding his hand out to Lucas to let him see. “I don’t want to die in a world that’s still black and white.”

“You’re like me but with red,” Lucas chuckled slightly in disbelief just to wince at his lack of sensitivity regarding Eliott’s last sentence. “Uh, why are you telling me this?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “guess I’m just the right amount of drunk to ramble about my feelings. Don’t get used to it.”  
Lucas smiled softly at his words. Getting used to him, that sounded like a nice idea. “Well, drunk or not, I think that you will find your soulmate. In no time you’ll be looking up and seeing a blue sky, trust me.” 

“You think?”

“I know.”

They were both silent as they looked each other in the eyes for a few seconds. All that could be heard were the cars driving past and the music blasting through the apartment. Lucas noticed just how good he looked in the dark, and just how plump and appealing his lips were. He watched Eliott lean in slowly, felt his body do the same, felt the tip of their noses brush against each other until–

“Lucas!”

The pair are quick to pull away from each other upon hearing Mika’s voice, leaving a foot’s distance between their chests.

“What do you want?”

“Have you seen Camille?” Lucas couldn’t help but frustratedly roll his eyes at his best friend who stumbled over towards him, annoyed that he had ruined the only highlight of his night. 

“No. He’s probably with his friends or something, I don’t know.” 

“Can you help me? I’ve been looking for him for ages and our apartment isn’t big enough for me to have taken this long. Please,” Mika begged, occasionally slurring his words. 

Lucas glanced over at Eliott who gave him a nod, silently excusing himself from the scene. “Yeah, okay, whatever.”

Mika found him a few minutes later passed out in the bathroom. They really were soulmates.

Lucas couldn’t stop thinking about their almost kiss. The way his dark eyes fluttered closed, the way his face emitted warmth, the way the soft skin of his nose brushed against his. The moment was so tender and vulnerable and perfect until his ill-timed friend decided to make a guest appearance. He should’ve expected that from Mika. 

The sun shone brightly on the hot June’s day as Lucas and Mika made their way into a pub, desperate for some refreshing beer. It wasn’t their usual bar, it was one in the city that Mika’s friends recommended and as usual Lucas felt out of place. They sat down at a table of faces he somewhat recognised, filled himself a glass from the jug of beer and listened to their conversations, only joining in when his self esteem allowed him. He eventually got up to order the next pint, patiently waiting at the bar for the bartender to take his order.

“Fancy seeing you here,” grinned Eliott as he pulled up beside him, Lucas’ eyebrows lifting up in surprise when he saw him. “Come here often?”

“First time. Mika dragged me, as usual,” he replied with a soft smile. 

Eliott nodded, fingers rhythmically tapping on the counter. “Keep it that way, this place is shit. Wanna get out of here?”  
“What?” Lucas asked with a confused look in his eyes, anxiety bubbling in his chest at the spontaneity of his offer. He never just did things. 

“Do you want to get out of here?” Eliott enunciated louder, fingers running through his dark locks as he awaited a response from him.

“Okay,” he found himself saying and soon enough Lucas was running down the streets with Eliott, chest full of laughter. He didn’t know where he was and for once he didn’t even care, too engrossed in the conversation and fun he was having with his new friend.

They found a small patch of grass and Lucas felt like laying in it, so that’s what he did. Eliott didn’t join him, however, too busy studying whatever was behind that metal railing. 

“There’s a pool there. I think it’s a primary school.”

“Okay?” Lucas chuckled slightly, not knowing where Eliott was going with this. 

“Let’s jump in.”

“What?” he asked but was too late, for Eliott was already climbing the fence. “Eliott what the fuck.”

“Come on, live a little,” he grinned as he sat at the top, looking down at Lucas. Lucas stood up and slowly made his way over to the fence, thinking that at some point Eliott would tell him that he was joking and come back down. But he didn’t. “Climb up, it’s easy.”

Lucas placed his clammy hands onto the metal railing and strategically placed his foot somewhere where he could later hoist himself up. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have no idea what I’m doing. I almost never do,” he murmured as he climbed the fence, meeting the man at the top. 

“That’s what life’s all about,” Eliott smiled before jumping off the other side, sprinting towards the pool. 

Lucas shook his head in disbelief as he watched him, a small smile on his lips, before slowly climbing down the fence. He ran behind him until he reached the swimming pool. The lights lining the edges of the pool made the water glow and seem that much more appealing. Much like Eliott, who glowed with the light from the sunset as he took off his grey shirt.

“Are you gonna jump in like that?” Eliott teased as he watched Lucas make no move to remove his clothes. Lucas rolled his eyes playfully as he kicked off his shoes, eventually stripping down to his underwear. 

Eliott pushed him into the water when Lucas least expected it, too busy testing the temperature of the pool with his foot. He was splashed in the face as soon as he resurfaced by Eliott jumping in too, emerging with a laugh. 

“That wasn’t funny,” Lucas complained in mock aggravation, splashing Eliott with water. “I could’ve drowned.”

“Why, don’t know how to hold your breath underwater?” he taunted, mimicking his action.

“I’ll have you know I’m the best at holding my breath underwater.”

“Really?” Eliott questioned with a raised brow, a look that Lucas couldn’t quite decipher in his eyes. “That sounds like a challenge.”

“A challenge you won’t pass,” Lucas said somewhat boldly.

“Alright, on the count of three we go down,” Eliott explained prior to counting down, the pair taking a deep breath just before submerging themselves underwater. 

They watched each other as the water made their hair flail about, determination written on their faces. But then time seemed to stop as Eliott pushed himself closer, his rough hand finding its place on Lucas’ cheek. He instinctively closed his eyes and suddenly Eliott’s lips were pressed against the corner of his mouth and Lucas felt like a fool. He still felt like a fool as he pushed himself up to the surface, vexed as he watched Eliott emerge a few seconds later.

“I won,” Eliott grinned mischievously.

“You fucking cheated, I demand a rematch,” Lucas insisted despite Eliott denying his claim, so they counted back down from three and immersed themselves in the water.

Lucas felt flustered under Eliott’s gaze, which kept dropping down to his touch-starved lips. Anxiety bubbled in his chest as he kept watching Eliott’s eyes linger, too scared to mirror the action. His previous tactic had left Lucas dumbfounded and confused. He thought that he was going to kiss him, that he wanted to kiss him. But now he didn’t know whether Eliott craved his lips as much as Lucas did or whether he was trying to distract him again. Lucas didn’t want to look like a fool.

But then he looked down at his plump grey lips.

Lucas felt his hands jitter as Eliott’s demeanour became determined. Eliott’s eyes never left his as he slowly inched closer, each second that passed making Lucas’ heart beat faster and faster against his chest. He could feel his pulse in his ears as Eliott’s nose softly grazed his own and Lucas had finally had enough as he pressed his lips to Eliott's.

Lucas didn’t know where this sudden surge of confidence had come from but he didn’t care as Eliott kissed him eagerly, arms wrapping around Lucas’ neck to pull him close. It felt as though he had been wanting this to happen for a long time. He placed his hands on Eliott’s soft cheeks as they pushed themselves back up above the surface. They kissed and kissed and kissed until Lucas felt his lips go numb, but he couldn’t bear to pull away from his intoxicating touch. Neither of them could. Neither of them wanted to. 

“Don’t open your eyes yet,” Eliott murmured against his lips once he reluctantly pulled away, smiling softly when Lucas chased them to leave a quick kiss. “I’m not ready to be disappointed.”

Lucas frowned at this, though he understood the reason behind his words. “Okay,” he whispered, softly stroking his wet cheek. “How long have you wanted to do that?”

“Too long,” Eliott chuckled quietly, leaning into his touch. “Probably since the first time I saw you.”

“That night at Idriss’?”

“No, before that. I can’t remember whose party it was but you were there, happily dancing with Yann and Basile instead of looking awkward and gloomy in the corner like usual,” he teased, accepting the light slap to his shoulder. “You just looked so beautiful and carefree and I was like ‘fuck, he’s the one, I need to talk to him’. And then I didn’t,” Eliott laughed. 

“Shut up, that’s too cheesy to be true,” Lucas complained although he couldn’t stop himself from pressing happy kisses to his lips. 

“Believe what you want.”

“Do you want to look now?” Lucas asked after a few seconds of silence. He could sense his reluctance, which was eventually overpowered by the acceptance of the fact that he had to open them eventually. 

“Okay.”

Lucas took a deep breath, anxiety bubbling in his chest in case the world was still grey. But that kiss felt right, his touch felt right, Eliott felt too right for someone who wasn’t his soulmate. He had to be. He wanted him to be. He needed him to be.  
His eyes opened to a bright sky filled with so many different colours he couldn’t even name. They were bright and warm and real and fuck, colours were beyond anything Lucas had ever tried to imagine. His cheeks hurt from grinning as he kept looking around, looking at the green of the leaves and the blue of the pool. He looked down at his nails and he felt like crying. “That’s red,” he said excitedly, almost in disbelief. Red was so beautiful. Lucas looked back at Eliott just to find him already looking at him with a smile on his red lips. 

“Your eyes are so blue,” Eliott muttered in amazement as he pulled him in by the cheeks to kiss him tenderly. “I fucking love blue.”

“I fucking love red,” Lucas chuckled with a shy smile, glancing up at the changing sky before joining their lips together again. He kissed him and kissed him and kissed him once more because although the colours were wonderful, Eliott’s lips were more.

**Author's Note:**

> i gave them a pool scene because why didn’t elu have one


End file.
